The FTSE 100 was steady this morning leading to a 15 point gain to 6,845 at lunch.
Investors took the news that Greece and its creditors are ramping up their discussions as a positive sign.
Despite Greek prime minister Alexi Tsipras leaving meetings with his German and French counterparts Angela Merkel and François Hollande without a deal, he remains confident a pact will be made before the end of the month.
European markets responded positively to the news with the French Cac 40 gaining 22 points to 3,833 and the German Dax rising 78 points to 11,344.
Elsewhere, US markets are expected to open slightly lower when the bell rings as investors await the release of closely-watched retail sales figures.
Back in the UK, supermarket giant Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) was top of the FTSE 100 after Cantor Fitzgerald found a renewed appetite for the stock.
Yesterday, the company announced sales slipped but not by as much as investors had feared. On the news, the broker bumped it up to a ‘buy’ from a ‘hold’ sending shares 2.5% higher to 266p.
Tesco (LON:TSCO) was also riding the good vibes on supermarkets, rising 2.3% to 216p.
Also on the rise was government-backed bank Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS). Chancellor George Osborne gave his annual Mansion House speech last night and said the time was right to sell-off some of its 79% stake in the bank. Shares rose 1.8% to 361p on the news.
At the tail-end of the index, delivery service Royal Mail (LON:RMG) lost the most after the government's department for business, innovation & skills said it has completed the disposal of a 15% tranche of its holding in Royal Mail via a share placing at 500p a share. Shares eased 3.8% to 497p.
In small caps, Triad Group (LON:TRD) was on the rise after the company released end of year results for the year ended 31 March 2015.
Revenue rose to £23.5mln from £19.7mln and profit more than tripled to £0.46mln from £0.13mln. Shares climbed 48% to 23p.
Another big gainer was Galantas Gold (LON:GAL) after the company won planning consent for an underground mine in Northern Ireland. Shares jumped 39% to 8.2p.
Tethys Petroleum (LON:TPL, TSE:TPL) has reached an amicable agreement with SinoHan, which will see the company repay an escrow loan and certain agreed costs. Shares rose 7.6% to 9.9p.
Conversely, Redhall Group (LON:RHL) said revenue in the first half of the year dropped to £41.4mln from £50.6mln due to delays in manufacturing. Shares eased 6.9% to 10p.
Elsewhere, crisis management specialist Red24 (LON:REDT) and German insurance giant Allianz Group have joined forces to provide product contamination, terrorism risks and hostile environments for business and other travellers.
Red24 specialises in hostage situations, evacuations and mass product recalls and will provide a service for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, the corporate insurance arm of the German insurer.
Simon Richards, Red24’s chairman, said: “We are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership and we are looking forward to developing it and embedding it throughout the Allianz network world-wide.”
It caps a good week for the company as it announced record pre-tax profits in 2014 of more than £1mln.
Shares rose 8% to 23.5p today.